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A Legacy of Leadership at Torrance: The Keys to Quality and Teamwork

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As Logistics Supervisor at AmSty's Torrance, California, polystyrene plant, Jesse Arroyo makes sure each member of the team does everything that needs to get done – the right way – to supply the plant with raw materials and provide valued customers with high-quality polystyrene. AmSty, with six plants in the U.S. and one in Cartagena, Colombia, is ...

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Building Momentum for a Sustainable Future

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By Richard Shaw, Director – Sustainability & Circular Economy Sustainability is foundational to everything we do at AmSty. That's why we're proud to showcase our history and progress in our sustainability reports. This year's report, "Building Momentum," speaks to our continued headway in building a more sustainable future for our employee...

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The Obstacle is the Way: Building Resilient Teams

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By Kevin Stallmo, Sales Director In the last book I reviewed, The 5 Graces of Life and Leadership by Gary Burnison, I mentioned another great book that took our team to the next level of resilience, The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday. This book was inspired by Marcus Aurelius, one of the greatest emperors of the Roman Empire. In January of 202...

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Own Your Career Path: 5 Strategies for Professional Growth

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By Dr. Randy Pogue, CEO  Whether you've landed your first "real" job fresh out of college or have been in the workforce for a handful of years, it makes sense to put your nose to the grindstone and get the job done to the best of your ability. Nothing wrong with that. It's what you were hired to do. But where are you headed? If you're not deli...

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Plastics Industry at a Critical Juncture

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By Tim Barnette, Vice President – Polymers & Sustainability Plastics, as an industry, has entered a new domain once thought unattainable. Circularity is no longer just a concept or even a goal – end-to-end plastic recycling is already here. This new reality was evident at NPE2024 – where companies from around the world came to Orlando for the f...

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Building Resilient Teams: AmSty’s Hector Bedoya

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When Hector Bedoya was promoted to plant manager at AmSty's Torrance, California, polystyrene plant his priority was the people. He promptly scheduled one-on-one meetings with each of the 33 employees, listening intently to understand who they are, their areas of expertise, and where they saw challenges and opportunities. "As a manager, you must lo...

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The Power of the 5 Graces of Life and Leadership

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 By Kevin Stallmo In 2022, after a long two years of adjusting to the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, I discovered a book entitled "The 5 Graces of Life and Leadership" by Gary Burnison, CEO of Korn Ferry, the leading executive recruiting and leadership training company on the planet in my opinion. As Sales Director at AmSty, and a voracious...

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Fostering an Atmosphere of Trust: AmSty’s Christina Guice

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Christina Guice was drawn to AmSty because of its values. As a chemical engineer who spent 12 years in various industries, she was offered the role of production engineer at the company's plant in Joliet, Illinois, in 2016 and knew AmSty was the right fit. "They genuinely care about people. I had an opportunity to meet people here and they were pro...

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Environment, Health and Safety: AmSty’s Values in Action

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AmSty has an impressive record that exemplifies its dedication to safety and the environment. As highlighted in the 2023 AmSty sustainability report, "Driving Sustainable Change," the company's safety record, measured by the Recordable Incident Rate (RIR), is in the top quartile of chemical companies in the American Chemistry Council (ACC). Also, s...

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A Successful Plant Manager’s Philosophy: Elevating Employees

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Jennifer Hellmich wants employees to see what they're capable of "and get excited about it." As plant manager at AmSty's Hanging Rock, Ohio, facility, Hellmich has plenty of experience to draw upon in her leadership role. The chemical engineer has been with AmSty 14 years, serving as quality coordinator, improvement engineer and operations coach be...

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Polystyrene Plastic: Making Life Better

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By Richard Shaw, Director, Circular Economy & Sustainability  I can't imagine a life without plastic, specifically polystyrene plastic, which is one of the products AmSty makes. Created from styrene monomer, another product we produce, polystyrene has a long been a favorite of manufacturers because it's durable, attractive, lightweight, to...

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3 Keys to Hiring Inspired Employees: AmSty’s Christina Guice

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Plant Manager Christina Guice prides herself on a hands-off approach. As the manager of AmSty's plant in Joliet, Illinois, where high-impact polystyrene plastic is made – a material used in the interior lining of refrigerators, disposable party cups and various food and medical packaging – Guice doesn't need to micromanage. She oversees a small tea...

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Keys to a Winning Playbook in a Customer-Centric Supply Chain

Bill-Griebel

Supply chain management, in its most basic form, is managing the flow of goods, data and information related to a product or service – from procuring raw materials to getting the end product to its final destination. Customer satisfaction hinges on the outcome and it takes lots of players to make it happen. This is according to Bill Griebel, who re...

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A ROADMAP TO EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP: 4 PILLARS THAT DRIVE SUCCESS

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 As vice president of operations at AmSty, Jonathan Kammerer is on the road. A lot. And he wouldn't have it any other way. "I love being at the plants, helping and supporting plant managers," said Jonathan, who has served in this role since 2019, overseeing all manufacturing, engineering, quality and reliability at AmSty's seven plants. That i...

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AmSty Among Finalists for Global ICIS Innovation Award

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AmSty is proud to have been named a finalist for the 2023 ICIS Innovation Awards, open to companies in the chemical industry that use innovation to solve problems and provide solutions for their customers and society, as well as benefitting the environment and progressing sustainability. With offices worldwide, ICIS (Independent Commodity Intellige...

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The Power of Community in Cartagena

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The Cartagena location is the only AmSty plant outside of the U.S., and supplying polystyrene to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America. And while a polystyrene plant requires many policies and procedures to operate safely and effectively, there's nothing formal when it comes to employees providing feedback or simply sitting down ...

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From Big Sky Country to Big Innovation: Creating a Sustainable Future at Allyn’s Point

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By Steven Lake, Plant Manager at Allyn's Point Facility Growing up on a small farm/ranch in Lambert, Montana, I was raised to respect the land and to be efficient with the available resources. Food was not wasted and clothes were worn out. From an early age my parents taught us not to litter. These lessons have shaped me into the person I am t...

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Grants Promote Foam Recycling Across the U.S.

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Environmentally conscious consumers have more ways to recycle foam polystyrene items like cups, egg cartons, foodservice containers and packaging materials thanks to grants from the Food Packaging Institute's Foam Recycling Coalition (FRC). AmSty is a proud member of FRC, which has awarded 28 grants totaling more than $1.01 million dollars since 20...

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Lights, Camera, Action! Circular Innovation in the Spotlight

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AmSty's sustainability journey is in the spotlight with the recent release of a segment on Viewpoint, a national television program that highlights the good work of innovative companies across the country. The documentary-style piece features Regenyx, AmSty's joint circular recycling venture with Agilyx, and aired on Fox Business Network in late 20...

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John & Penny: AmSty Engineers Tuned In To Sustainable Solutions

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Penny Williams and John Brownhill are working in lockstep to help revolutionize the way plastics are made – and remade. Both engineers at AmSty's Allyn's Point facility in Gales Ferry, Connecticut, this isn't the first time they've teamed up to do great things. The two met in college where you could say their friendship started on a high note. Whil...

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